I know that I write a lot in each blog post – this helps me remember what colours or cardstock I’ve used in case I want to get a similar effect in the future, in addition to providing information that some readers might be interested in – so please don’t think that you have to read every word I’ve written. If you don’t want to read my musings, or know what I used and how I made a card you can just click the thumbnail images to view each card at a larger size, and then click “Back” and scroll down to the next section.

About Me! – Gwyneth

I’ve been crafting, in one form or another, for as long as I can remember.

I started making cards seriously for the simple reason that I am Welsh, and way back the cards that were in Welsh in our shops were few and far between, and if you wanted a similar quality and style to an English card you could easily pay twice as much for it, so I decided to make my own.

The thing with card making is that there is so much variety available that it would be very difficult to get bored with it as there’s always another technique to learn and try out. There are so many styles of cards and so much different cardstock, paper, toppers, etc., available, And on top of that there’s all the digital material you can get and print off yourself. And you can make cards as the mood takes you – it may be a quick card from pre-made items one day, and an elaborate creation where you’ve hand made all the elements the next.

Deteriorating health and fluctuating disabling conditions mean that I’ve got more time to do crafts these days since I was forced to take early retirement due to ill health. Crafts are not only a way to keep the brain active, planing what to make for the next creation, but is also a good thing to do to help with problems with hands or arms to try and keep dexterity and flexibility. Even if you can’t handle a craft knife or a scissors ever, then there are kits available with pre die-cut items that will still give you the joy and satisfaction of having made something when you stick them together. I’m in the “middling” group of crafters – with dexterity and pain in my arms and hands fluctuating a great deal, though there’s a great deal of fine work I’m never able to do.

In this blog you’ll notice that I tend to make quick notes in places, saying how easy or difficult I’ve found something to cut. You may even notice that there are some posts just made up of batches of cards made with die-cut elements, or where everything has been cut out with my electronic cutting machine, my CraftROBO (Update: I’ve now upgraded and got a new Silhouette Cameo in addition to my CraftROBO). Then there are other posts made up with mostly straight edge cutting items. I do like to have some digital images on my computer that are more of a challenge, ready to print out and then cut when my hands are working better and with less pain.

I’ve even found that, with the right tools (such as a seed bead spinner for threading small beads), I can make quite tidy pieces of jewellery lately. You’ll also see some of these items on show in this blog when I’ve been able to make anything.

And then I found out about knitting boards where all the stitches are on a board that can rest across the lap, the yarn woven back and fore around the pins on the board, and flicked over with a hook. So no weight at all holding things up, and if I’m just able to hook over one row of stitches on some days, that’s one row more of knitting than I’ve been able to do by the normal needle method for over five years.

So there are ways for somebody who’s illnesses/disabilities interfere with what they can do to keep on crafting.

Creftau Maes Mieri Crafts:

In addition to this crafting blog I’ve also got some of my cards on display on my web site:

Mind you, this site is seriously in need of an overhaul and a face-lift at the moment, so that’s another project that I need to look into doing this year.

Cardiau MAES MIERI Cards is a bilingual site that was set up to show examples of the cards that various members of the family have made.

Several members of the family enjoy the craft of card making and as we are a Welsh family we’ve also made other things, such as Wedding Stationary, in a bilingual format, in addition to the various Welsh cards we make.

Sites / Designers I Make Cards For:

craftsUprint –

I’m a Registered Crafter on a site called craftsUprint, and you can see the 900+ photos of completed items I’ve made for the site by clicking – Here. You can read more about craftsUprint on my page “What is CUP?” – here – on this blog.

Tina Fitch –

I’m also a part of, the exceedingly talented designer, Tina Fitch’s Creative Team. You can see some of the work I’ve done for her on her blog – here. Tina sells her designs on craftsUprint – here, but she’s also got her own shop site “Forever Memories For You” – here, and a corresponding blog – here. In addition to her printable designs for you to cut out yourself, and her cutting file designs, Tina is an Authorised Re-Seller of the Silhouette Cameo, the cutting machine I’m now using. So, if you are looking to get a new digital/electronic cutting machine, pop over to her shop for a look at what she’s got on offer while you are browsing around comparing prices.

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I hope that you are inspired to craft similar things yourself, not to copy completely, and to help you I include item titles, creators and links for stuff I've used in my creations..